Minnefer (vizier)

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Minnefer (also Minufer [1] ) was an Ancient Egyptian official in the reign of king Nyuserre Ini. He bears the titles of a vizier and was therefore the highest official at the royal court, second only to the king. He was also overseer of all royal works, a title often held by viziers. Minnefer is known from different sources. He is depicted in the funerary temple of king Nyuserre Ini at Abusir providing firm evidence for his dating under this king. He is named on a short quarry-mark painted on a stone that was found in a wall around the pyramid complex of king Neferirkare Kakai. He is mentioned in papyri found at Abusir, that dates under Djedkare Isesi. He is also known from his sarcophagus that is now in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden. [2] His mastaba was found at Saqqara. [3] It is not yet published. The quarry marks on the pyramid of Neferirkare Kakai indicate that he helped building his pyramid. Neferirkare Kakai ruled before Nyuserre. That means that Minnefer was either very long in office, or that the pyramid complex was finished under Nyuserre. The reference under king Djedkare Isesi refers to a phyle (group of priests) named after Minnefer. That might indicate that the vizier was later honored, perhaps with the cult of a statue. [4]

Ancient Egypt ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa

Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in the place that is now the country Egypt. Ancient Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3100 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Menes. The history of ancient Egypt occurred as a series of stable kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age and the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age.

Nyuserre Ini Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 5th Dynasty

Nyuserre Ini was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He is credited with a reign of 24 to 35 years depending on the scholar, and likely lived in the second half of the 25th century BCE. Nyuserre was the younger son of Neferirkare Kakai and queen Khentkaus II, and the brother of the short-lived king Neferefre. He may have succeeded his brother directly, as indicated by much later historical sources. Alternatively, Shepseskare may have reigned between the two as advocated by Miroslav Verner, albeit only for a few weeks or months at the most. The relation of Shepseskare with Neferefre and Nyuserre remains highly uncertain. Nyuserre was in turn succeeded by Menkauhor Kaiu, who could have been his nephew and a son of Neferefre.

Vizier (Ancient Egypt) highest rank of official in Ancient Egypt

The vizier was the highest official in Ancient Egypt to serve the pharaoh (king) during the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. Vizier is the generally accepted rendering of ancient Egyptian tjati, tjaty etc., among Egyptologists. The Instruction of Rekhmire, a New Kingdom text, defines many of the duties of the tjaty, and lays down codes of behavior. The viziers were often appointed by the pharaoh. During the 4th Dynasty and early 5th Dynasty, viziers were exclusively drawn from the royal family; from the period around the reign of Neferirkare Kakai onwards, they were chosen according to loyalty and talent or inherited the position from their fathers.

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References

  1. ↑ Altenmüller 2001, p. 599.
  2. ↑ Strudwick 1985, p. 92.
  3. ↑ Cairo University Expedition
  4. ↑ Andrassy, 147-148

Bibliography

Hartwig Altenmüller is a German Egyptologist. He became professor at the Archaeological Institute of the University of Hamburg in 1971. He worked as an archaeologist in Saqqara from 1969 to 1982, and then the Valley of the Kings from 1984 to 1998, retiring in 2003.

Donald Bruce Redford is a Canadian Egyptologist and archaeologist, currently Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Pennsylvania State University. He is married to Susan Redford, who is also an Egyptologist currently teaching classes at the university. Professor Redford has directed a number of important excavations in Egypt, notably at Karnak and Mendes.

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

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